With even the title inviting cynicism, and the unashamed fusing of elements of Jack Frost, Edward Scissorhands, Starman, The Snowman and George Of The Jungle (!), if taken in the right mood this is one of the more enjoyable recent festive rom-coms by a long way. Set in the small town of Hope Springs, a down-at-luck diner owner Kathy (Lacey Chabert) is given a 'lucky' scarf which she puts on a muscular snowman in the town square and he subsequently comes to life in human form (Dustin Milligan); Kathy takes in the naïve and childlike Jack Snowman, and the film follows his relationship with her and his effect on the townspeople. The film benefits from a very self-aware and affectionate script, with tongue-firmly-in-cheek and a nice balance of festive-movie trappings and sincerity. Like the film itself, Christmas movie veteran Lacey Chabert (Family Guy's original Meg!) knows exactly how to play the humour and the more emotional moments, and Dustin Milligan is absolutely charming as the child-man-snowman (his reaction when Kathy bites the head off a snowman cookie is priceless!), with the whole cast clearly invested in the tone to good effect. Putting aside the gender politics - suggesting that all women really want is a gym-honed man-child they can mother - the resulting mix gives rise to a good-humoured and utterly silly festive feel-good romp, with plenty of gags (including some unexpected funny daft jokes) and a surprisingly sincere message about making the most of what we are given and the time that we have. Even the bloopers and silly moments that play alongside the end credits are quite good fun.
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